Hate is Just a 4 Letter Word
by Biib's
Summary: It's been 10 years and five months since she last saw him, but she would recognize him anywhere. She couldn't believe someone as nice as Finn was friends with the biggest idiot she's ever met. AU Quick, side Samcedes, but just a little bit.
1. Prologue

**I'm back again, with a new fic.**

 **Like all my others, this one is AU and there will be a bunch of mistakes, since English is not my first language.**

 **Let me know what you think, ok?**

 **I don't own Glee.**

* * *

Fourteen year old Quinn Fabray walked as silently as she could to her brother's bedroom door. It was half opened, so she sat next to it in silence, waiting to hear something from inside. She didn't need to wait much, a few seconds later, she heard laughter coming from inside the room. A huge smile appeared on her face. Her brother wasn't alone. He had company, and the person was exactly who she wanted it to be: his best friend.

Quinn remembered every detail of the first day her brother Sam took Noah Puckerman to their house. She was petting her bunny when she heard the door opening behind her. The little girl turned around to see her brother walking in, with another boy.

Sam passed right by her, without acknowledging her presence. Quinn was used to it. The blonde boy was three years older than her, and told her many times before that she was still a baby and he wasn't a kid anymore, so he didn't want to deal with her brattiness and wouldn't play with her anymore. She wasn't surprised or bothered. What surprised her though, was the other boy that got in with Sam. He looked at her with a smile on his face and said hi. Quinn, being shy, looked down before saying 'hi' back, but not loud enough.

"Come on, Puck, don't waste time on her. Let's go up to my room play videogame." Sam interrupted them.

Quinn didn't know exactly when her crush on Puck started, but she remembers she started liking him right after her 'boys have cooties' phase ended. And, since then, it became an habit to eavesdrop on Sam and Puck when they were home.

She's been trying to make him notice her for a couple of years now, but it still didn't work. Sure, he listened to her when she talked to him, and gave her attention when they happen to have a conversation, but they rarely did. Of course, he knew who she was and was always polite to her, but Puck still saw her as Sam's little sister, and she didn't want this.

Quinn knew that Puck had hooked up with almost every girl on school, and she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her... Maybe it's because she's too young? Or because she was Sam's sister, and therefore off limits?

She was lost in thoughts when a conversation the boys were having caught her attention.

"Dude, have you seen that Santana Lopez chick? Her boobs are really popping out! She's looking good, I think I'll hit that." Puck said.

Hearing him said that stung. Quinn knew who Santana was, she was one of the popular kids. She was gorgeous, that was true, and had a nice body, starting to get curves, and was drawing the attention of most boys in school. The blonde envied her. Quinn was chubby, wore glasses and braces, and at 14, had acne all over her face. Still, Puck seemed to treat her decently.

Next, she heard her brother's voice:

"Isn't she in Quinn's grade? She's too young, Puck."

"No, she's not. They're like, 14, 15? That's not too young, we're 17, dude. You're just saying that because she's the same age of your sister. You still think Quinn's a kid, but she isn't. She's growing up."

Quinn's smile grew bigger. He noticed she wasn't a kid anymore. Then, she heard Sam speaking again:

"Dude, the fact that you're telling me my sister is growing up really worries me. You're not hooking up with my sister, right? Do I have a reason to worry?"

The blonde girl held her breath, waiting for the response.

Puck chuckled before answering: "Sam, you definitely have no reason to worry, your sister is gross."

Quinn was shocked, and tears were pooling in her eyes. She heard her brother again:

"So you're promising me you're never hooking up with my little sister, right? I'll never have to worry about it?" It was important to Sam to know this. He knew how Puck treated women, and didn't want his sister to ever go through it.

"Dude, your sister's fugly! No, I'm not doing it, ever!"

"Hey! Don't say that. It's my baby sister we're talking about."

The girl barely listened to her brother's reply before running away to her bedroom, sobbing.

After that day, Quinn avoided Puck at all costs. When he was at her house, she'd spend her whole time in her bedroom, and when they bumped into each other on the school halls, she pretended not to know him. Hearing him say those words made she make two decisions that would change her life: one, she would do her best to change the way she looked. The blonde wanted to feel pretty and desired, and she would do anything she could to achieve that. Two, Noah Puckerman was dead to her. The guy was a jerk and she wanted him out of her life.

Quinn started working out and taking dance classes. She also went to a doctor, to take some meds for the acne. When she was halfway through her treatment, Sam and Puck left, for college. She didn't want to attend the going away party, but she had to. Her brother was leaving and, although he could be an idiot sometimes, they loved each other, and he was very protective of her. She would miss him.

The blonde teenager spent the whole party sitting with her parents and, when it was time to go, she hugged Sam and told him she was going to miss him. Puck tried to say goodbye too, but Quinn just looked at him, turned around and left, without saying anything. She could faintly hear her brother talking to her former crush. "I don't know, dude. She must be in her period."

Six months later, Quinn had lost most of her weight, had no acne, took her braces off, replaced her glasses for contacts and had a nose job. People were shocked by all the changes. Suddenly, the outcast became the prettiest girl in school, and in no time Quinn was on the top.

On her sophomore year, she joined the cheerleading squad and before her senior year started, she was already captain. When she graduated, she got accepted at NYU, and that's where she chose to go.

She made it. In short time, she turned her life around and became someone she loved. As for Puck, she hasn't seen him since the going away party. Shortly after he left town, his family moved to California, so he never went to Ohio anymore. Of course, she heard a thing or two about him from Sam, since her brother lived with the guy, but not much. It was a good thing, really. She decided Noah Puckerman was dead to her, and dead he would remain. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you all for reading, favoriting and following this story.**

 **A special thanks to miss agron, Alliecattie3 and the guest that reviewed, you guys are awesome!**

 **Here's chapter 1, I hope you like it.**

 **And in case you're wondering, I don't own Glee.**

* * *

Quinn woke up startled and looked at her watch, getting desperate as soon as she noticed that it was 10 a.m., and she was late for class. She changed her clothes and left the apartment in a hurry. The girl was locking the door when she heard a familiar voice.

"Morning, Quinn. Where're you going on such a hurry?"

"Morning, Finn! I'm late for my classes!"

"Quinn, it's Saturday. Are you sure you have classes today?"

The blonde let her head fall on the door, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"I can't believe this. Crap!"

Finn laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to relax. You've been really stressed out lately!"

She nodded. "Yeah... It's just that, it's my last year of college, and things have been hectic."

"I know, I've noticed you're pretty busy. I barely see you anymore."

Quinn had a soft smile on her face and just nodded, her eyes closing again.

"You should go back to sleep. Between college and the dance classes you teach, you barely have time to rest." said the tall boy.

"You're probably right. That's exactly what I'll do, thanks. Bye, Finn."

"Bye."

Finn was Quinn's next door neighbor. He was a very sweet guy, and was the first to welcome her when she moved to the building, a year and a half ago, when she got a job, teaching at a small dance studio. It paid decently and she could finally move out of NYU's dorm. They formed a strong friendship since then, but Quinn wouldn't mind if it turned into more. He was cute, helped her out a lot and they've been flirting for a while.

Quinn went back to her bedroom and didn't even bother to change her clothes again. She's been exhausted, and really needed some sleep.

* * *

Quinn's phone rang, waking her up from her deep slumber. She found her phone and smiled upon seeing the caller's id.

"Hi, Cedes."

She met Mercedes at NYU, when she first got there. Like Quinn, the other girl was enrolled on the dance program, but she dropped out before the end of the first semester, deciding that dance really wasn't for her. Mercedes liked performing, but turned out she was more of a singer than a dancer. Even though the girls didn't saw each other every day, they grew closer, becoming best friends.

In the end of Quinn's first year of college, Sam moved to New York, to open a restaurant. He attended business school, and since his sister was living in new York, he thought it would be good to be closer to her. Quinn was ecstatic with the news and was planning on moving in with her brother, but she gave up on the idea as soon as she learned that Puck was coming too, and would share the apartment with Sam.

Although she didn't live with Sam, they saw each other all the time and it didn't take long for him to meet Mercedes, since she and Quinn were attached at the hip. The two of them immediately hit it off and began dating. At first, Quinn was bothered by it but eventually, seeing how happy her brother and best friend made each other, she was happy for them.

The blonde couldn't hang out with her favorite couple as much as she wanted, because Puck was always around. He lived with Sam, so Quinn never went to their place or Sam's restaurant, since Noah co-owned it. Her brother and Mercedes knew of her dislike for Puck, but only the girl knew the reason behind it.

"Hey Q! How are you? I've been trying to talk to you the whole week."

"Yeah, I've been busy. I've seen your calls, I'm sorry I didn't return it. So, what's up?"

"I've got some news. I moved in with Sam!"

"You moved in? Really? Why am I only hearing about it now? Why didn't you ask for my help?"

"I wanted to, but you went MIA all week!"

"I can't believe it. I'm so happy for you!"

"And the best part is that you get to come here whenever you want, now that Puck moved out."

"That's even better. It'll be easier to never see the jerk again."

"Q, I told you, he's not a bad guy. He was an idiot back then but that happened a long time ago."

"Cedes, don't try to defend him, Sam already does that a lot. You're supposed to be on my side. Besides, you know I don't want to hear anything about him."

"I am on your side. I'm always on your side, Quinn."

The blonde smiled. "Thanks, Mercy."

"But, the reason I'm calling is, I wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow. Are you free?"

"Yes, I' d love that."

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow, 8 p.m.?"

"Yeah, sounds great. I'll see you then."

Quinn hung up the phone and yawned. She really needed sleeping. The clock read 5 p.m. , she slept through the day, and really needed a shower right now. And food, she was starving. Her fridge was empty, so she'd have to go out to buy something to eat.

* * *

Around 8 p.m., Quinn was already back. She lied down on her couch, on the living room, and turned on the tv, looking for something good to watch. She decided that she'd have a quiet night in. Some of the girls from the studio invited her to go to this pub on Soho, but she didn't have the energy.

'The Hangover' was on, and she decided to watch it again. She was always up to seeing Bradley Cooper. Halfway through the movie, Quinn's eyelids started to get heavy. She didn't get how that was possible, she'd slept the entire day away, there was no way she could be sleepy again. She tried to fight it for awhile, but ended up falling asleep again.

Quinn woke up startled. God, the music was loud. And all those noises... Someone's having a party. Was it Finn? It appeared to come from Finn's apartment. The blonde stood up and got out of her apartment, standing on the hall. Yes, the sound was definitely coming from Finn's apartment. Funny... she couldn't remember a single time he had a party before. Even if he had friends over, he would let her know and tell her to text him if they got too loud. This was very uncharacteristic of him.

She checked her clock: 11 p.m. Quinn decided to wait for a bit. She would try to sleep again even with all the noise and, if she couldn't, she'd ask Finn to turn the volume of the music down. He was a very easy going guy, and was always worried about not bothering people. She was sure he would easily agree to it.

The blonde put short shorts and an old tank top. It was very hot, and her a/c wasn't working. She took her contact lenses off and lied down on her bed, trying to get some sleep. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the noises.

After rolling on bed for nearly an hour, Quinn had enough. She'd have to ask Finn to turn down the music. She put her glasses on and marched to her neighbor's door, knocking on it. The blonde waited for a bit and, after having no answer, she knocked again, more forceful this time. Still, no answer. Quinn rung the doorbell, pressing it for a little longer than normally necessary. _'You're starting to piss me off, Finn'_. When no one opened the door again, she lost it. The dancer started to bang on the door desperately, while using her other hand to buzz the doorbell.

When the door finally opened, a familiar face stood there, but not the familiar face she was expecting.

Oh, fuck!


	3. Chapter 2

**Thank you, ddlovatic96 and Alliecattie3, for your reviews. They made me really happy.**

 **I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

It's been 10 years and five months since she last saw him, but she would recognize him anywhere. She couldn't believe someone as nice as Finn was friends with the biggest idiot she's ever met.

"What?" Asked the guy that stood on the other side of the door.

"Where's Finn?" Quinn asked, even more annoyed than she already was before.

Her anger grew as she noticed he was checking her out. She felt too exposed wearing shorts and tank top.

The man had a smirk as he spoke again. "Well, he's not here, but you're welcome to come inside and wait for him in my room. I'll even keep you company."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Where is he? Does he know you're throwing a party at his place? "

"He's working. And this is my place too, so I don't need his permission to throw a party.

"What? You live here? Since when?"

"I moved in this week, so I decided to do this small get together with close friends." He said, in a cocky tone.

She looked inside and saw that the small apartment was way too crowded. The guy probably invited everyone he knew in New York.

Quinn couldn't believe it. The only logic explanation was that God hated her. It wasn't fair. And she would kill Mercedes, why didn't she tell Quinn? There's no way she and Sam didn't know about this.

She took a deep breath before speaking again: "Look, the music is too loud and I'm trying to sleep. Turn it down." Quinn knew she could be a bitch and she tried to tone it down most of the time. In cases like this, though, she welcomed that part of her.

"Or you could take me up on my offer and wait for Finn in my room. I promise we'll have a good time."

Now, Quinn was pissed. She couldn't believe he was actually hitting on her.

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

The guy furrowed his eyebrows, thinking, but soon shook his head. "No. Am I supposed to know? Finn said he didn't have a girlfriend or a sister, so you're fair game."

The blonde shook her head, starting to walk back to her apartment. "You're unbelievable."

She got in her apartment and locked the door behind her. The music was lower now, but she knew she would have a hard time sleeping. She couldn't believe that Noah Puckerman was her new neighbor.

* * *

The next day, Quinn woke up with someone knocking on her door. She stood up and went to open it, feeling a slight headache.

"Good morning, Quinn."

"Hi, Finn. Morning."

Her nicer neighbor smiled at her, before speaking again.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to apologize about last night."

Quinn furrowed her brows. He continued.

"I know my roommate had a party yesterday, and by the looks of the apartment when I got home, it was a big one. He mentioned that someone asked him to lower the music, and I'm guessing it was you, and I'm really sorry for all the trouble. I had no idea he was having a party, otherwise, I would have told you."

"It's fine, Finn. It's not your fault, really. I was surprised to be honest, I didn't know you had a roommate."

"Yes, he moved in this week. I tried to introduce you two a couple of times, but you were never home."

Quinn smiled, softly. "Last week was crazy."

"But as soon as Puck wakes up, I'll bring him over so I can properly introduced the two of you. I'm sure you had a terrible first impression of him after last night."

"That's not necessary, Finn. I've actually met him before."

"Really? He didn't seem to know you, he just said that a blonde girl knocked there, and he just knew she wasn't my girlfriend or my sister."

"Yeah, he didn't recognized me, but he is my brother's best friend."

"I see. Ok, then, I'm gonna go now, my place is a mess and Puck's sleeping, so I'll start cleaning things up. Once again, I'm sorry, Quinn."

Quinn rolled her eyes. _'What a jerk. Puckerman didn't even bothered to clean things up afterwards.'_ She turned to Finn. "Don't worry about it, like I said, it's not your fault. Oh, and if you need any help, just let me know, ok?"

Finn nodded. "Thanks, Quinn. See you later."

She smiled, as the boy left.

* * *

A few hours later, Quinn was knocking on Sam and Mercedes' door. The latter answered it and had a huge smile on her face as she greeted her friend.

"Hey, Q! It's great to see you, I missed you this week."

The blonde had a death glare on her face.

"I'm going to kill you. How could you not tell me?"

Mercedes frowned, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I have no idea what you mean. Care to enlighten me?"

"Oh, I will. I'll just wait for my idiot of a brother to get here."

As if on cue, Sam left his bedroom.

"Hey, Q!"

"Shut up. Sit. Both of you." She said, pointing to the couch.

"What's up with the rudeness?" Her brother asked, as him and his girlfriend obeyed her command.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that the asshole you call best friend was moving to the apartment next to mine."

The couple seemed shocked with the news. They looked like they had no clue.

"You mean Puck?" Sam asked.

"Do you have any other asshole best friend?"

"But he told me he was moving in with the bartender from Luckies, that Hudson guy."

Quinn scoffed. "Yes, that Hudson guy is Finn, my next door neighbour."

Mercedes spoke, as realization downed on her. "Oh... I didn't know the Finn from Luckies was your Finn... I'm sorry, Q."

The blonde closed her eyes and propelled down a chair, next to the couch. She couldn't believe this was happening to her.

Her brother spoke next.

"This might be a good thing, Q. I know Puck can be an idiot every once in a while, but he has a good heart. It's a good opportunity to start over. And it's about time you let go of all this anger you hold towards him. It's not like he's ever done anything to you."

"I hate him because he's an idiot who doesn't care about anyone else but himself." Quinn avoided looking at Mercedes as she spoke. The girl knew exactly what originated her hatred towards Puck, although Sam had no clue. Quinn hoped things would remain this way.

"Whatever you say, Q." Sam wouldn't insist. If she wanted to hate the guy, he would let her.

When Quinn calmed down a little, after seeing that her brother and best friend really didn't know that Puck would become her neighbor, she apologized and decided  
to change topics, asking about the new house and how everything was going with the new arrangement. Sam and Mercedes got excited and started telling her everything that happened that week.

Soon after that, Mercedes announced that dinner was ready and the three of them sat at the dinner table. Quinn was really excited, since Mercedes was a great cook and she hadn't had a decent meal all week. During dinner, when her best friend kept telling her the story of how Sam asked her to move in, she couldn't help but notice how the two of them stared adoringly at each other. She was truly happy for them.

* * *

It didn't take long for Quinn to leave after they were done with dinner. She could tell her brother and best friend were really tired, and so was she. She drove back home and, as she was making her way inside the building, she ran into the last person she wanted to see. Of course he would chose that exact moment to take out the trash.

"Hi, blondie."

"Leave me alone."

"Hey, what's up with the pent up anger? I'm sorry about the party, ok? I'll invite you to the next one."

"No, thanks. I don't want to have anything to do with you."

"Look, I don't know what I ever did to you, but..."

Before he could finish, the blonde snapped at him. "Don't talk to me. Just leave me alone." She ran inside the building and left Puck standing there, looking clueless.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about what was wrong with her. Did he sleep with her and forgot about it? It didn't seem like it, but it would explain all the hatred. Or maybe she was just a bitch. He would ask Finn about it.

Once he got inside the apartment, his roommate was sitting on the couch, watching tv.

"Finn, you know the hot blonde that lives next door?"

"Yes, Quinn." Puck noticed the dopey smile on the other guy's face. He definitely had a crush on the girl.

"Yes, her. Is she a bitch? Because she just snapped at me for no reason. Apparently, she's not my biggest fan, which is a first when it comes to girls."

"No, she's actually a very nice girl. But like I told you, she said that you've met before, so it might be something you did back then?" Finn offered, trying to be  
helpful. Truth was he didn't care at all about Quinn's dislike for Puck. He actually liked that fact, since his roommate would chase anything in a skirt, and he didn't want Quinn to be one of his victims.

"We did? I really don't remember her."

"Uh, she said something about you being friends with her older brother? I think his name is Sam, they're really close."

Realization downed on Puck. "Oh, she's Sam's little sister. Yeah, I remember her."

The boys fell into silence, Finn watching tv as Puck started thinking. Little Quinn looked very different, good different. She grown up in all the right places, he liked this version of her, at least physically. But he couldn't recall what he could've done for her to hate him. He was always nice to her , she was a cool chick, kind of shy and not a looker but, still, a nice person. And she was his neighbor now, they'd have to coexist peacefully. He decided that he was going to knock on her door right now and find out what was her problem with him. That was the plan, until he heard his phone beeping. He got a text from this girl who applied for a job at his and Sam's restaurant. She wasn't very bright, so she didn't get the job but, since she was hot, Puck insisted they exchanged numbers. He texted her earlier and only now she answered, agreeing to meet him at a bar nearby. His talk with little Fabray would have to wait. 


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3, that turned out to be very long!**

 **Thank you ddlovatic96 and Alliecattie3, for the reviews. Alliecattie3, it will take a while for Puck to act better! And Mercedes is a great friend to Quinn, and she won't tell Sam! :D**

 **I hope you enjoy this new chapter! I'd love to hear what you think.**

* * *

On Monday morning, Puck got to the restaurant and saw Sam right away.

"Hey, guess what? Your sister is my neighbor."

"So I've heard."

"She's not very fond of me."

"Yes, I've heard about that too."

"Why? Did I ever do anything to her?" Puck questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Not that I know of. I think she's just not ok with the way you treat girls. She says is degrading to women, or something like that."

"She's wrong. I always make it clear for women I go out with that the only thing that they'll get from me is sex. They do it willingly. Besides, I never did anything like that with her."

"And you never will. Maybe you slept with a friend of hers in high school?"

"Did she had friends in high school?"

"Dude, I don't know. Why do you care so much? Let's forget about Quinn for a bit and focus on these résumés. We got to find a manager for the restaurant as soon as possible, or you wanna keep working like a dog? We need help."

Puck nodded and said Sam was right, before grabbing one of the résumés from the stack of paper on the desk.

"Brittany S. Pierce, 24. Sounds hot, you should call her back for an interview."

"That's not how you choose an employee, Puck. Let me handle this, ok?"

Puck sighed, before nodding again. "Ok, you do that."

* * *

Quinn couldn't believe how tired she was. It was still Monday, and she already felt drained. She just finished the last class she was suppose to teach today, and was heading home. She didn't even bother changing, leaving in only her sweatpants, thrown over her leotard.

When she got to the building, she entered the elevator and heard a voice asking to hold it. She did, but regretted the minute she saw who walked in.

"Look if it isn't little Fabray!" He said, with a smile.

The blonde simply rolled her eyes, not saying anything back.

"Nice outfit." Puck commented, with a smug grin, looking her up and down.

God, couldn't this guy take a hint? She was ignoring him, she didn't want to talk.

"Ok, it seems like you don't want to talk to me. And that you don't like me, and I don't get why, since I don't recall doing anything to you. I was actually always nice to you."

Quinn thanked the skies when the doors were finally open and she could walk to her door, get inside and put some space between them. But, unfortunately for her, he wouldn't stop.

"What happened to you? You used to be different. You were always friendly and all of sudden-"

She couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh, please, you didn't even know who I was when you saw me!"

"Well, that's because you look really... different! But even if you looked the same, I wouldn't have recognized you with that bitchy attitude." He said, raising the tone of his voice a little.

Quinn couldn't believe this guy. "You say that as if you actually knew me back then. "

"Maybe we didn't talk, but you seemed nice."

"Maybe, I wasn't nice." She was getting tired of this discussion. "Look, why do you even care?"

He was caught off guard, not knowing exactly how to answer her question. "Well... we're neighbors, and we might need help from each other. What if I'm out of sugar and need some in an emergency? I'll have to ask you. Or if you have some trouble with your kitchen sink or plumbing? I could help."

Puck stared at her, waiting for a reaction. She started shaking her head. "No, thanks."

And just like that, she closed her door behind her and was rid of him. Quinn leaned on the door for a bit, breathing deeply in and out. She couldn't let him get a rise out of her.

After a few minutes, she went to the kitchen, ate something and went to take a shower. The rest of the night was spent relaxing in front of the tv, until it was time to go to bed. She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, Quinn got up as soon as her alarm woke her up, heading to the bathroom. She always had to shower first thing in the morning, to get prepared for the rest of her day.

Quinn closed the door behind her and striped off of her clothes, throwing it on the floor. As soon as she got down to grab a towel out of the cabinet, she noticed something moving on her clothes, scattered on the floor. She put the towel around her and waited to see what was there. She didn't have to wait much, as a huge spider emerged and stood on top of her underwear.

She let out a loud scream, and ran outside the bathroom. She needed to take a shower fast, but couldn't, since the spider was in her bathroom. Not many people knew that, but Quinn couldn't handle spiders or cockroaches. She'd panicked at the sight of it. She'd need help and, usually, she asked Finn to help her when things like that happened. But, apparently, life hated her, because now that Puck was living next door, she couldn't risk asking for help, in case he answered the door, especially after the conversation they had the day before. She pondered on calling Sam for help, but she couldn't do this to him. Ask her brother to drive across town to get rid of a spider wasn't really fair.

So, she decided to suck it up and knock on Finn's door, hoping he'd answer. Quinn held her towel tighter around her body and walked to her neighbor's door, knocking softly. She closed her eyes and a mantra kept playing on her head. _'Please, let it be Finn who answers the door, let Finn answer the door, let Finn answer the door'_. But, of course, the universe wouldn't cooperate, and when the door finally opened, Puck stood on the other side, with a smirk on his face.

"Good morning, neighbor. What can I help you with?" He said, in a fake cheerful tone.

"I'm actually looking for Finn." She answered. Quinn wouldn't prove him right.

"Hmmm", he said, noticing she was only clad on a towel that did not cover that much up. "Finn's unavailable right now. Something I can help you with?" The smirk wouldn't leave his face.

Quinn wouldn't let him have this. "No, I don't think so."

"Ok, in that case, bye." He started closing the door when Quinn stopped him.

She felt defeated, but she couldn't be late today. "Please, help me, Puck."

"Oh, now you need my help?" He could see that asking for his help was killing her, and he was loving every minute of it.

Quinn couldn't believe this was happening. Yesterday she told him she wouldn't be asking for his help and here she is, not even 24 hours after it, begging him for help. She was very proud and having to do this with him, of all people, was crushing her.

"Yes. There's a huge spider on my bathroom and I can't be late."

"So? It's not stopping you from showering."

"But I'mafraidofspiders." She murmered.

"What? I couldn't hear you."

"I said I'm afraid of spiders."

He wouldn't even try to hide how happy he was right now. Quinn would give anything to be able to slap that smirk off his face, but she needed him.

He followed her to her bathroom and, as soon as he spotted the spider, he spoke.

"Oh, that's Mr. Twinkle! I haven't noticed he was missing."

"What?" Quinn looked and sounded pissed. _Mission accomplished._

"Yeah, it's my friend Artie's pet. He would be away for a couple of days and asked me to take care of his spider. Good thing you found it, could you imagine what  
would have happened if I had lost it?" He said, letting the spider climb to his hand.

"Nice underwear, by the way. Red is definitely your color." He said, winking at her and trying and succeeding in pissing her off even more.

"Once again, thanks Quinn." Puck said, leaving the stunned blonde dumbfounded, standing on her bathroom.

* * *

Puck couldn't get the smile out of his face as he walked inside his apartment and put the spider back on the container. Yes, of course he planned everything. He got pissed off last night after his argument with Quinn. She hated him for no reason? Fine, he would give her a real reasons to hate him now. He knew she hated spiders, he remembered Sam using them to scare her when they were kids. He asked Artie to borrow his spider as soon as Finn told him there was a small hole on the wall of his room, that was next to Quinn's bathroom.

He decided to make a point of pissing Quinn off every chance he got. How dare she? He was always nice to her when she was ugly and just because she was hot now she thought that she could treat him like crap? Game on!

When he got to work that morning, Sam commented on his good mood.

"Morning Puck. Someone looks happy today."

"Yeah, I had great morning!"

"Another one night stand?"

Puck smiled hearing the female voice. He didn't know she'd be here today.

"Good morning, Cedes. No, there wasn't any company for me this morning. Just having a nice day."

"Good for you!" She said, before giving Sam a small peck on the lips and leaving the restaurant. She just drove him there today, since she'd need their car.

"So, Sam, where does your sister work?"

Sam furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Uuhh... She forgot a bag she'd need and I offered to take it there for her." Nice saving.

"She teaches in a small dance studio near the building. I think it's just two blocks away, but I'm not sure..."

"Ok, I'll figure it out." Puck wasn't done with her.

"I'm sure she appreciates it. And it's good to hear the two of you are getting along better now."

"Yes, we figured that neighbors should help each other out."

"Oh, Puck. I'm interviewing four people for the job this afternoon. Here are their resumees." The blonde said, handing him the sheets of paper.

"Dude, three guys and a girl? Do you have any doubts on who to hire?"

"You know, I was gonna ask if you wanted to interview them with me, but forget about it."

Puck smirked. "Well, I definitely want to see this Danielle Harper chick."

* * *

That evening, when Puck left the restaurant, he went straight to the dance studio Quinn worked. Well, not exactly straight, since he didn't know exactly where it was but, after walking around for 40 minutes, he finally found it.

He walked inside and saw her right away, in one of the rooms. She seemed to be in between classes, since there was no one with her at the moment. He had to admit that she was good, and looked even better in the leotard. He could see every curve of her.

Suddenly, he was pulled out of his thoughts.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Quinn! I didn't know you worked here."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Well, I'm here to check out the students. I might get a date, I hear dancers are great in bed."

She squinted her eyes at him, and he practically see the anger overflowing out of her.

"The next classes are for kids, Puckerman!"

"Even better! It means single moms."

Quinn scoffed. She couldn't take it anymore. "That's it. Get out."

"No."

The blonde was about to speak again when some of her students walked in the room.

"Hi, Ms. Quinn."

"Hey, girls." She answered, smiling at them before glaring at Puck.

He had that smirk on, the one he was wearing all the time now. "I see your students are arriving. I'll go outside to take a look at their mothers. See you later."

She couldn't remember being this angry before in her whole life. Not even the stunt with the spider that morning left her fuming like she was now. How could someone be so despicable and hateful? She'd give him a piece of her mind as soon as they were alone. Who the hell did he think he was?

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do right now. She took a deep breath and smiled at the little girls that looked at her expectantly. "Ok, girls, let's get started!"

As soon as she finished her last class, she grabbed her phone and called Mercedes.

"Q, what's up, girl?"

"You're not gonna believe this, Cedes."

"Uh... what happened?"

And that's when Quinn started telling her best friend everything that Puck had done, without even stopping to breath. Mercedes could tell he did a number on her best friend.

"Ok, Quinn, calm down. How did he even know where you worked?"

"I don't know."

"Hmmm... what, Sam?" Quinn could tell Sam was talking to Mercedes on the other end of line, but couldn't understand what he was saying. All she heard were her friend's comments while her brother spoke. "He what?", "no... you didn't.", "Why would he do that?"

Then Mercedes finally spoke to her again, just as she reached her building.

"Q, Sam told him where you worked. Apparently, Puck told him you forgot a bag you would need and asked Puck to take it there for you."

"I can't believe this guy. And to think that the two of you were constantly trying to defend him." Quinn said, as she got in the elevator.

"Sorry, Q."

"Don't worry, I'll handle this. Bye, Cedes." Quinn answered, ending the call before Mercedes could even answer. She climbed out of the elevator and headed straight for Puck and Finn's door, knocking as hard as she could.

When the door finally opened, she was greeted by him, the bane of her existence, with a smirk firm in place. She, however, was very determined and didn't even let him say anything before she spoke, staring him dead in the eye.

"I don't know why you're doing what you're doing or what you'll get out of it, but I can play this game too. You want to be an asshole? Fine! But I can be even worse than you. It's on."

After trying to sound as menacing as she could, she simply turned around and got inside her apartment, without looking back. 


	5. Chapter 4

**Thank you, miss agron, Alliecattie3 and ddlovatic96, for the reviews.**

 **Alliecattie3, I'm glad you're enjoying it and appreciate all your support. Yes, Quinn's been angry with Puck for too long, but she's been suffering quietly, with only Mercedes by her side. The thing is, Puck's more vindictive than Quinn, but she's not far behind.**

 **This chapter is not as long as the previous, but it gets things going. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Next morning, Puck went to work smiling to himself. He had really managed to rile Quinn up, so he couldn't be more satisfied. But what she told him last night kept replaying in his head, though he didn't actually believe that she was able to do anything that would piss him off. He was easy going and didn't really care about his reputation or anything like this. He doubted that she'd be able to think of something to anger him with.

When he got to the restaurant, Sam was already there, as usual.

"Morning, Puck. There's someone I want you to meet."

He turned around smiling at the sight of the girl standing next to Sam.

"This is Dani, our new manager. Dani, this is Puck, he owns the restaurant too."

She smiled, shaking his hand as he spoke, after looking her up and down.

"I knew you'd make the right choice, Sammy."

"I chose Dani because she's experienced in this kind of business, Puck, not for your own satisfaction." The blonde then turned to the girl. "Excuse Puck, Dani. Like I told you, he's a womanizer and can't be taken seriously. Just ignore him when he tries to flirt with you, ok? Don't take it as sexual harassment, he does it to every girl. It's like second nature to him."

She looked at Puck and he winked at her. "He's got a point. It's not sexual harassment, just second nature."

Dani giggled before speaking. "Well, I'm afraid I'm immune to your charm. You shouldn't waste your energy on me."

"No one is immune to my charm. Why would you say that?"

"Well, I won't be attracted to you unless you grow a vagina."

"Really? Sam, I'm choosing the new employee next time, ok?" He said, looking at his friend, who was laughing at him by now.

* * *

By the end of the day, Quinn decided she needed a drink. She was so stressed out and she needed to talk to someone. This thing with Puck was driving her insane. She decided to call Mercedes and see if she was up for it.

"Hey, Quinnie. How is it going? Feeling any better?"

"Hi, Cedes. Not really, it's kind of why I'm calling. I could really use a few drinks. Do you want to meet up somewhere?"

"Do you think we could do that tomorrow? It's just that, today, Sam's leaving the restaurant early, 'cause Puck'll take one of his dates there, and said that he could handle if anything happened. And it's been so long since Sam and I spent time together and -"

"Cedes, you're an angel. Thank you. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

Quinn said, hanging up. Jackpot! That was perfect. She was at a loss on how to mess with Puck, but she knew now. Mercedes was always providing her with the best solutions, even if her friend wasn't aware of it.

The blonde went straight away to her brother's restaurant and, as soon as she walked in, she spotted her target sitting with a women she recognized as Madeleine's mother. He really meant it when he said he was after single moms, the night before.

She walked inside casually, but was careful enough to not be seen. Quinn remained in a corner, watching them from afar. He was good, she'd give him that. His date's body language showed her he knew exactly what to say and do to take her home. She waited for 20 minutes until she saw Puck leaving and walking to the restroom. _Perfect!_

Quinn approached the table and greeted the woman sitting there.

"Hi! You're Madeline's mother, right?"

"Yes! You're Quinn, her dance teacher, right? She talks about you all the time."

Quinn smiled at that. She was always glad to know that she was a big part of those kids' lifes.

"Well, I didn't know you were a therapist. Anyway, I'm glad you're helping Puck, he really needs it in this difficult time."

"I'm not a therapist. I didn't even know you and Puck knew each other."

Quinn used all her acting skills in her response. "Oh... My mistake then, I'm sorry. I can't believe he's not getting the help he needs. But I'll leave you alone now."

The woman had a shocked look on her face. "What's going on?"

"I shouldn't say anything about this. It's his secret to tell."

"Please, Quinn. I have a little girl at home, I can't get myself into trouble. Think of Maddie, please."

"Ok. Puck... He's a sex addict. And because of this problem, he isn't always careful, if you know what I mean, and he had a really bad case of syphilis a couple of months ago, and left it untreated back then, because he was treating his depression, so he had complications-"

"I think I heard enough, Quinn. Thanks for alerting me. I have to go."

Quinn watched the woman leaving with a smile on her face. She knew it was cruel, but she had to show him just who he was dealing with. A waiter came by and she ordered a drink, while she waited for Puck. He sure was taking his time.

When he finally got back, he furrowed his eyebrows upon seeing Quinn sitting on his table, sipping a drink and with a huge smile plastered across her face.

"What are you doing here, Quinn? Where's Jenny?"

"Jenny, Maddie's mom, right? Yes, she had to go. Asked me to tell you she had an emergency."

"What did you do, Quinn?" Puck could tell by the look on her face that she had something to do with this sudden need to leave.

The blonde feigned innocence as she spoke. "Oh... nothing much. I just told her about your sex addiction, which led to you getting syphilis. But unfortunately, you didn't treat it back then, because you were depressed and then, she just left, before I could came up with anything else. Maybe next time, right?"

Puck was speechless. Noticing this, she smiled even bigger. "That's right, Puckerman, I cock-blocked you. By tomorrow night, the mothers of all my students will know about your issues. You won't be able to hook up with anyone in our building too, since they'll hear the same story, and if you try to get any girl at NYU, I'll ask a friend I have at the college paper to run a story about sex addiction, and I'll gladly give a interview about a friend of mine who's been there... Plus, I'll ruin your every chance of getting a date if I'm around." She finished her drink, smiling. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I got to go. Busy day ahead of me tomorrow. Bye, Puck." Just like that, she turned around and left.

He watched her go, shaking his head. He underestimated her, but she went straight to his weakness. She knew that sex was one of the things that mattered most to him, and went for the kill. He assumed that she was still a prude, like she was back when, and wouldn't even think about it as a weapon, but he was wrong. He didn't know her anymore, so he couldn't just assume things about her. He was a smart guy, smart enough to know that you had to really know your enemy in order to identify his weakness. And that's what he was going to do.


	6. Chapter 5

**First of all, thank you for the reviews, you guys are awesome!**

 **I'm not very happy about this chapter, but I that's all I've got right now.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Puck decided that he was going to have another party at his and Finn's apartment. This time, Finn knew about it and would be there. The idea was to get closer to Quinn, he was determined to get to know her better. He was reading this book a Chinese guy wrote about strategies to beat enemies at a war. He couldn't think of a more fitting situation. This thing, with Quinn, was definitely war. And a party was the perfect environment to apply everything he learned from the book.

He got to the restaurant (late, as usual), and announced right away that he was having a party on the weekend, to which Sam and Dani responded that they'd try to be there, but still had to check. Right after that, the blonde man spoke again, with a smile on his face.

"Well, I heard your date ran away from you last night."

Puck cleared his throat, watching Sam and Dani smirking. "That's not totally accurate."

"No? That's what Blaine saw, when he was waiting on your table."

"Blaine's been talking too much without getting his facts straight. Turns out that my date had an emergency."

Sam held in a laugh. "Or that's the excuse she gave you. You're losing your touch, dude!"

Oh, he was gonna show Quinn. Little Fabray would get what she deserved.

* * *

That evening, Puck waited attentively to hear any noise from Quinn's apartment. As soon as he heard the noise of the key on the lock, he went into the hall and waited for her. She was going down.

As Quinn stepped out, she was greeted by her annoying neighbor.

"What do you want, Puck?"

"Well, I wanted to invite you to a party this weekend. Finn and I will have a small get together and we wanted you to come. "

She didn't buy this for a minute. "Why?" She asked, squinting her eyes.

"Because we love parties?"

"No, I meant, why are you inviting me?"

"Well, I feel like we started off the wrong foot and I just want to make things right. Let's put it all behind us."

She still didn't believe him. "I'll be busy."

"Come on, Quinn. Sam and Mercedes will be there. And I'm sure it would mean a lot to Finn if you could go."

Quinn walked in the direction of the elevator. "Ok, whatever, I'm late. I'll think about it, ok?"

He stepped in front of the elevator, stopping her from getting in. "Nop! I'm not letting you leave unless you agree to it."

"I'm really late, I don't have time for this."

"Just say you'll be there and I'll let you go."

"Ok, Puck, whatever, I'll be there. Can I go now?"

"Of course, have fun." He said, with a smirk on his face as he watched the blonde leave.

 __

 _Lure your enemy into treacherous territory - checked._

* * *

Quinn kept replaying the dialogue she just had with Puck in her head. He was up to something. There was no reason for him to want her there that bad. Or maybe, Finn asked him to do it?

She decided not to over think this and just mention it to Mercedes tonight. They were meeting for drinks, since her friend asked to reschedule it the previous night. Quinn was telling her everything anyway, and she knew Cedes would know what to do.

When Quinn walked into Luckies, she spotted Mercedes right away, sitting in a small table in the corner. The blonde smiled and joined her.

"Cedes!"

"Hey, girl!"

The girls hugged and the blonde smiled before asking.

"So, did you have fun with Sam yesterday?"

A coy smile appeared on the other girl's face.

"Yeah, we had fun! A quiet night in. We ordered take out, watched Avatar-"

"God, Cedes, I don't know how you put up with this. How many times did my brother made you watch that movie?"

"Q, we do these things for the people we love. Besides, your brother always makes it up to me. I even bought an Avatar costume and he loved! So, when the movie  
was over, I put it on and-"

The blonde immediately put her hands on her ears. "Please, spare me of the details. He's still my brother and I have no desire of learning about his sex life!"

Mercedes giggled. "Ok, if you insist. But, like I said, he always makes it up to me, specially on the bedroom."

Quinn scoffed, before speaking again. "God, I don't want to even think about what he did when you watched that Star Wars marathon with him."

Both girls burst out laughing before the blonde spoke again.

"Sam is such a nerd!"

Mercedes nodded. "Yeah, but he's a hot nerd. Those are really hard to find."

The girls ordered their drink and kept chatting.

"So, what's up with you, Q? You seemed pretty upset last time we talked."

"Yeah, Puck's driving me crazy. But I'm fighting back."

"Good for you, Q."

"But the strangest thing happened when I was leaving my house today. Puck actually invited me to a party at his place this weekend."

"What's so strange about it? You're beautiful, single, he tried to hit on you before he knew who you were… Maybe he's just interested."

"No, that's not it. We're in the middle of a war, Cedes. We hate each other. He's up to something."

"Hun, I think you're over reacting. Puck loves parties, he's always throwing them. I don't think he'd do this just to get back at you."

"In that case, you and Sam are coming with me."

"Where?"

"To the party."

"No, we discussed it and agreed that we don't want to go."

"Yes, you do. You have to, Cedes! It's like, written in the best friends' book of rules, you got to do things you don't want to help your friends. Remember when I went  
to that Doctor Who conference with you? You and Sam had been together for only a couple of months and you asked me to be there for you? "

"Quinn…"

"No, I don't wanna hear it. You're coming and that's it."

"Ok, I'll talk to Sam. Better yet, I'll talk to Puck, tell him I'm going. And there better be tater tots in this party."

Quinn smiled. She could always count on Mercedes, whenever she needed.

The girls spent the rest of the night catching up with each other. Quinn couldn't remember having that much fun in a long time.

* * *

Puck was still learning about war strategies, he carried the book everywhere and was even marking the most relevant quotes and the ideas he could actually use.

 __

 _"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss._

 _If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose._

 _If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself."_

That meant that he really had to get to know Quinn. Puck knew she wouldn't just hand him all the information he needed. Of course he would try to get something out of her on the party, Saturday night, but he needed to surprise her first, to know about her past, monitor and learn her behavior, talk to people that really know her.

As if on cue, his phone rang. He smiled upon seeing the caller. _Perfect!_

"Mercedes, what do I owe the honor of this call?"

"Puckerman, I just want to let you know that I'm going to your party and I demand tater tots."

"That's great news! The more, the merrier. And I'll get you tots, don't worry about it."

"Good, just wanted to make sure."

"Well, since we're talking about demands for the party and all, I was wondering... What kind of beer does Quinn like?"

"Why?"

"Well, it's the first time she comes to a party I'm hosting and I want her to enjoy it."

"She's not much of a drinker, but she doesn't like beer. Get her vodka."

"Sure. And is she bringing a date? Does she feel ok surrounded by people she doesn't know? Or is it unsettling to her?"

Mercedes frowned at his questions and immediately recalled the conversation she had with Quinn earlier. Maybe the blonde was right, he was up to something. "What  
kind of questions are those?"

He stumble upon his words, trying to come up with something fast. "Well... I just... I want her to feel comfortable and have a good time, and maybe she had a childhood trauma or something that could make her feel uneasy in that kind of environment." God, he was really bad at it.

"Puckerman, I don't know what you're up to, but you better stop."

"I'm not up to anything! I'm just asking!"

"This conversation it's over." She said, ranging up.

Puck sighed, turning off his phone. Of course Mercedes wouldn't cooperate. She was Quinn's best friend. Besides, Puck was kind of afraid of her, and it was a stupid move to try to ask her. Now she was suspicious that he had something planned.

He decided he would go to Sam. He was gullible and wouldn't get suspicious. 

* * *

**So, that's it!**

 **In case you're wondering, the Avatar costume Mercedes mentioned to Quinn is this one:**

 **product/adult+neytiri+costume+-+**

 **Oh, and all the quotes about the war strategies are from Wikipedia.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter 6.**

 **miss agron and Haylee, thank you so much for you reviews! I hope you enjoy this update.**

 **Most of this chapter sounded better in my head than it did when I actually wrote it down. Oh, and I apologize in advanced for all the spelling and grammar mistakes.**

* * *

The party was in full swing Friday night. Puck and Finn's apartment was full of people and, if they were being honest, the roommates didn't know many of the attendants. However, Puck was actually happy that all of the friends he invited were able to make it. He stood near the living room door, leaning on the wall, watching people enjoying themselves. He could see Blaine, one of the waiters that worked on the restaurant, chatting with his boyfriend, Kurt, by the kitchen door, Sugar and Kitty, who work with Finn at the bar, waiting to use the bathroom and nursing their beer, Sam was chatting with Dani on the other side of the room and, last, he spotted Finn, who was sitting on the couch pretending to listen to what Rachel, his boss, was saying to him, but looking on the other direction. The girl was clueless, Finn was clearly not interested, but she insisted on trying to get his attention.

Puck ended up following Finn's gaze and his eyes ended up on Quinn, who was sitting on a chair next to Mercedes, drinking her vodka tonic. The girls seemed to be absorbed in the conversation, ignoring everything else around them.

If Puck was being honest, Quinn was the reason why he was throwing this party. He was supposed to approach her, get to know her better. He learned he had to know his enemy and himself in order to win. Of course, Sam provided him with some information, but not enough. So he was just waiting for the right time to go talk to her. Maybe he could take some tater tots to Mercedes? That would be a good excuse to approach the girls, right?

Before he could do anything, he noticed Finn pulling a chair to sit besides Quinn. Puck would have to wait. Maybe he could just go talk to Mercedes? That way, he might be able to hear what the other two are talking about.

Suddenly, he hears someone cleaning their throat, trying to get his attention.

"She's hot." Said the person.

"Huh? Who?" Asked Puck, who wasn't counting on Dani catching him staring.

"The blonde you've been staring at for the past 10 minutes. What's up with that?"

"She hates me."

"Why? Does she hate you or she hates men, in general? 'Cause I can work with that." Said Dani, smiling. She'd hooked up with plenty of girls who weren't out yet, but claimed to hate men. That was actually her favorite kind of hook up. It made her believe that she'd changed someone's life for better.

"She's not gay. At least not that I know of. She's been flirting with Hudson for a while now."

"The freakishly tall kid? I don't get it. He has a nice face, but I don't see the appeal." She said, carefully observing Finn.

Puck shrugged. "Besides, she's Sam's sister. It's not like anything can happen there."

"Oh, that's Quinn? Sam talks about her all the time! She's the one who screwed up your date this week, right?"

Dani laughed, as Puck nodded with a stern face.

"I like her already!"

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

The girl still had a smile on her face. "I am. I just didn't realize that there are opposite sides."

"She's the enemy, Dani!"

"Really? And why are you staring longingly at the enemy?"

"I'm thinking of ways to take her down!"

"Looks like you're thinking of ways to take her down to your bed."

"You're not helping, Dani. You were supposed to be my ally."

"Was I? I rather not get involved."

"Traitor!" He said, walking away. Considering Quinn was flirting with Finn, he could get in her way, to piss her off. It couldn't go wrong, right?

Puck noticed that Mercedes joined Sam while he was talking to Dani, so her seat was vacant. He grabbed another beer before seating next to Quinn.

"So, are the two of you having fun?" He asked, interrupting the conversation between the blonde and his roommate.

Quinn turned to him and smiled. "Yes! Thank you, for inviting me."

He furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding why she was actually being nice to him. He guessed that she was already drunk, which would serve his purpose. It's easier to get information from drunk people. But maybe, just for fun, he would piss her off first.

"Finn, did you know that Quinn was fat and used to wear glasses and braces when she was a teenager?"

Quinn gave him a death glare before turning to Finn and speaking in the same flirty tone she'd been using on him.

"Yes, I wasn't much of a looker."

Finn smiled. "Really? You don't look like someone who was ever ugly... I guess that there's some true to that ugly duckling story my mom used to tell me when I was a kid."

Quinn smiled at his cheesy answer, as Puck shook his head. That backfired, that's not what was supposed to happen. Finn was supposed to ask to see pictures of her and tease her a little bit, not flatter her.

The taller boy spoke again:

"But I've seen a picture of you dressed as a cheerleader when you were in high school. You looked pretty good."

Quinn smiled, shyly. "Yeah, that was when I was older. Puck had already left Lima, so he only met the unflattering version of me." The blonde was slightly drunk, and when that happened, she had a little trouble controlling what came out of her mouth. "In fact, Finn, Puck actually called me gross once."

"No, I didn't." He snapped, not recalling ever doing such a thing.

Quinn scoffed. "Yes, you did."

"Well, it doesn't sound like something I would say, especially to your face."

"You didn't say it to my face, I overheard you."

Finn started to feel uncomfortable as the discussion escalated, and excused himself, saying he would get more drinks. However, Quinn and Puck barely noticed him leaving.

Puck spoke again, confused. "I really don't remember it. If I can't remember, it probably didn't happened."

Quinn was getting angry by now. How could he keep denying it? "It did. I was 14. You were playing videogame in Sam's room and I heard you talking about Santana Lopez, and how hot she was. Then Sam said that she was on the same grade as me and made you promised him that you'd never hook up with me and you said he had nothing to worry about, 'cause I was gross and fugly."

Ok, hearing the whole story, there might be a chance that he actually said that. "Did I actually promise Sam not to hook up with you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not the point, Puckerman."

This was really bugging him. He had to know if what Quinn said actually happened. It was all a part of getting to know the enemy, right?

He asked Quinn to wait right there and stood up from the chair, his head spinning from the alcohol he'd been drinking. He looked around the living room and found Sam making out with Mercedes. He headed there, not caring if he was being inconvenient.

He reached the couple and started shaking Sam's shoulders, causing the blonde to break the kiss and glare at him.

"Dude, what the fuck!"

"I need to ask you something."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and told Sam to be quick, but she remained firm in her spot.

"What is it?"

"Did I ever say your sister was gross?"

Sam looked indignant. "Dude, I don't know. Did you really come here to ask me that? Ask her!"

Neither one of the boys noticed, but Mercedes suddenly became interested in the conversation.

"Ok, did I ever promise you I'd never hook up with Quinn?"

"Yes, you definitely did, and you better stick to your promise."

Puck didn't say anything back, just turned around and walked back to where Quinn was seated. Unfortunately, he saw that Finn had returned, which would get in the way of the two of them finishing the previous conversation.

He stood in front of Quinn and stared at her, while speaking to Finn, who sat beside the blonde.

"Hudson, Quinn and I have a conversation to finish, so if you could just give us some privacy-"

The blonde stared back at him. "Finn, stay. That conversation's over." She was starting to get angry again, and she really didn't want to have that talk with Puck. She was drunk and knew that she'd end up talking too much. Besides, she didn't want to cause a scene.

Finn didn't know what to do. He kept looking between Puck and Quinn, both of them holding each other's stare, and didn't know what to say. "Well..."

Before he could come up with anything, Puck grabbed Quinn's arm and started dragging her to his bedroom.

As soon as he closed the door behind them, Quinn yanked her arm from his grasp.

"What are you doing? You don't get to manhandle me!" She was livid. He pissed her of many times before, but couldn't remember ever seeing her this aggravated.

"We need to have this conversation right now." He was aware that this wasn't really a pressing issue. Truth is, it didn't really matter, it was nothing important, but he kept telling himself that this piece of information was primordial to his plans.

"There's nothing to say. You said I was gross. I was 14 back then and it was a blow to my self esteem. I cried for three days, lost weight and joined the cheerios. The end."

See, she knew she shouldn't have this conversation after drinking so much. She shouldn't even have mentioned this incident at all. Now she had to hold her tongue, she can't let it slip that she has the biggest crush on him. Oooops, HAD, had the biggest crush on him. Alcohol does play tricks on your head.

Puck wanted to be pissed, because, how dare she yell at him like that, in his house, when he's trying to fix things (yes, that's what he's trying to do.)? But when he looked at her and noticed the tears pooling in her eyes, he wanted to hold her and apologize. He knew now that it was not something you're supposed to say to a woman, it hurt them. He wanted to punch his teenager self, not really for what he said, because Quinn really was ugly back then, but for the fact that she heard it and more than that, for the stupid promise he made to Sam. Teenage boys are really idiots that don't think about the future.

He didn't know how to react. If he held her, she might cry and he couldn't handle crying girls. Should he leave the room? Puck felt he had to say something, but he was a badass and would do it his own way. If she wanted a shoulder to cry on, she should run to Hudson, and then they'd braid each other's hair. That was not his style. He was an honest, straight forward guy and would just tell her the truth.

He got closer to her and spoke, in a stern voice, firm but not loud:

"It happened over 10 years ago, get over it. You were ugly, now you're hot. Move on. I was a teenager and didn't care about other people's feelings. You want to hear an apology? Fine, I'm sorry, but that's not a reason for you to get angry and hold a grudge."

Quinn shook her head and walked towards the door, to leave his room. "God, you're an asshole."

That's when something clicked in Puck's head. He grabbed her arm and stopped her from leaving.

"That's why you hate me, isn't it? That crap about disapproving the way I treat woman is just bullshit, right? You're holding a grudge."

For once, Quinn was speechless. She tried to leave again, but he locked the door and put the key in his pants' pocket.

"I can't believe you hated me during all this years because I said you were ugly." He started remembering things that never crossed his mind before, like the way Quinn ignored him in his and Sam's going away party. It all made sense now. He was interrupted by her voice.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"If I'm wrong, then tell me, why do you hate me?"

"Just open the door, Puck. Let me out." Her voice was croaky and low. Her defense mode was on.

"Just admit it, Quinnie." He had a smirk on his lips, and was enjoying not only his realization, but also the situation they were in.

"I won't admit shit!" She said, walking his way and trying to get the key from him.

The blonde stuck her hand in his pocket, but he was faster and grabbed both of her wrists. She was surprisingly strong, but he ended up pining her to his bed, not letting go of her.

"You know this is sexual harassment, right? You can't just put your hands down a person's pants like that. Do you think I'm that easy?" He said, still smirking. Puck was having fun right now. He had the upper hand, he was winning. He could see how aggravated she was by the look on her face. He had to admit that she looked hot when she was pissed, and even better pinned to his bed like this. She also smelled good, her scent greeted his nostrils as his face was getting closer to hers. He had no clue why his face was getting closer to her, but he couldn't stop himself. Before he knew it, he was kissing the blonde. Hard.

 __

 _Fuck!_ Turned out he didn't know himself that well. Puck definitely lost the war.


	8. Chapter 7

**miss agron, MaximumFire, SomethingWorthATry, TM and gez lutz merrygold, you guys are the best! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy chapter 7.**

* * *

The kiss got heated very fast. Quinn was caught off guard at first, but now she was totally into it. She got lost on the kiss until she heard a loud thud outside the room, which brought her to her senses. She pushed Puck forcefully off her.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, with an inquisitive look.

Puck just stared at her, a blank look on his face, like he was trying to come up with something to say, but couldn't think of anything.

She realized he wouldn't react and put a hand on his pocket, retrieving the bedroom key.

"You're unbelievable." Quinn said, as she unlocked the door and walked out.

She needed a drink. She definitely needed a drink, but she couldn't stay at the party any longer. That would mean being around Puck and, right now, she couldn't do that. Besides, people would start questioning where she disappeared off to. At least she knew Mercedes would, and her best friend always knew when she was lying.

Without looking back, Quinn left Puck and Finn's apartment and headed home. Locking her door, she grabbed a bottle of vodka.

* * *

Puck sat still on his bed, trying to understand what just happened. He didn't know what possessed him to kiss Quinn, but he liked it. He knew that it meant that he lost the silent war between them, but that's always a risk when your opponent's a hot female, right?

But the thing was, he wanted a consolation prize. And maybe, said prize was just next door. He wouldn't deny that Quinn's been in his head constantly the past week, but now, after the kiss, he knew she would haunt his thoughts. He had to get her out of his system.

And then he remembered Sam and the promise he made to his best friend all those years ago. Maybe he could talk to Sam about it? Right! He was really drunk if he was even considering it. Or maybe, he could talk to Quinn. She could agree to a small fling, nothing serious, and her brother would never hear about it? Or they could have sex just once. She could agree to it, right? Except for the fact that she hates him, and it probably got worse after tonight.

His thoughts were interrupted by Finn.

"Everything ok?"

Puck looked at him and nodded.

"I was just wondering, 'cause you dragged Quinn to yeer room and she left…"

He could tell his roommate was drunk by the frown on his face as he spoke and the way his speech was slurred.

"No, dude, everything's fine." Puck said, standing up and going back to the party. He grabbed a beer and was mingling again. He had to take his mind of the girl next door.

* * *

Quinn was on her second drink now. She was not as mad as before. Right now, she was allowing the 14 year old girl inside of her to squeal, after being kissed by the boy she's been crushing on since she could remember.

She had to admit that, even though he could be an ass most of time, he was still as charming as she remembered. Even more, if she's being honest. And he looks so hot! He must work out. Probably, yeah.

With thoughts of Puck, Quinn ended up falling asleep on her couch.

* * *

The girl woke up with a ranging headache. She knew she was a lightweight and shouldn't drink as much as she did the night before, but Puck had a way of driving her crazy.

She blinked twice before feeling the pain in her neck. It was sore because of the position she fell asleep on the couch. She felt like crap.

Quinn checked her watch to see that it was 2 p.m. She needed an aspirin. With that thought in mind, she headed to the restroom and opened the cabinet where she kept her medicine. _Crap!_ She was out of it. The girl decided she would see if Finn had any, so she wouldn't have to go buy it. Quinn texted him, so she wouldn't risk Puck opening the door when she knocked there. Not only she wasn't ready to see him again after what happened, but also she didn't want him to see her looking like crap. Not that she wanted Finn to see her in this current state, but at least she knew he wouldn't be a jerk about it.

She smiled when she got Finn's text saying he was taking her some aspirin. A few minutes later, she heard a knock on her door and opened it, already knowing who was on the other side.

"Thank you, Finn. You're a life savior!"

He smiled before speaking. "I know exactly how you're feeling. My head was killing me when I woke up too."

As if on cue, the door to Finn's apartment opened and a woman walked out, followed by Puck, who leaned on the door.

"Thanks, Puckerman! See ya."

"Anytime, babe." He answered, with a smirk.

When the woman turned around to leave, Quinn got a glimpse of her and tried to hide behind Finn. She knew this woman. Her and Santana went to school together and were on Cheerios together. They were frenemies, and were always competing. She didn't know what she dreaded most, Puck seeing her in her hungover state or Santana seeing her this disheveled, especially considering that the woman looked so put together. She was as beautiful as she was when they were in High school. Her skin still glowed and her smile was as captivating as ever. No wonder Puck was attracted to her back then. Well, apparently, he was still attracted to her, considering she was walking out of his apartment right now, looking giddy.

To be honest, Quinn had no idea Puck still had any sort of contact with Santana. She didn't recall ever seeing them talking back in Lima, so she was the last person Quinn expected to see, especially walking out of her neighbor's apartment. She couldn't remember seeing Santana at the party, so it was weird, right?

If she was being honest, she was mad. Puck kissed her during the party and, upon rejection, he just ran to the next willing body. But she should know, he was Puck, after all, she didn't know why she expected anything different. It stung a little, nonetheless. That's why she should stick to guys like Finn, he would never do something like that.

Quinn was pulled out from her thoughts by Santana's voice.

"Quinn? Quinn Fabray?"

Damn, she was uncovered. That's the last thing she wanted.

"Santana, hi." She forced a smile on her face, but it was fake. The last thing she wanted to do right now was smile.

"How are you? Puck told me that you lived next door. It's good to see you."

"I'm good, yeah. Good to see you too."

"I'm late right now, but we should hang out and catch up. We'll make plans when I stop by again. Bye, Quinn."

"Bye."

Santana nodded in Finn's direction, not even bothering to say goodbye, and got in the elevator.

Quinn's day got even worse. Her hangover was killing her, her neck was sore and the pain wasn't getting any better, even though she was massaging it, and now, this run in with Santana crushed her self esteem. She felt like the ugly 14 year old again, knowing that the other girl kept checking every flaw she had as they talked.

"I could help you with that." She heard Puck saying. Quinn hadn't even noticed that he was still there, leaning on his door.

"What?"

"Your neck. I can see something's wrong with it, since you keep touching it and wincing."

"I'm fine, thanks." She didn't want be around Puck, much less have him touching her.

"You should let him help you, Q, Puck has healing hands." Finn said, with a goofy smile. "A couple of weeks ago my shoulder was hurting and he fixed it."

"I appreciate it, but I'll try just taking a shower and relaxing for a bit."

"Ok, it's up to you." Puck answered.

"Ok. So, I'll go do that. Finn, thank you so much for the aspirin. Bye, Puck."

The boys said their goodbyes and Quinn was relieved when she finally closed the door behind her.

Just like she planned, Quinn took a shower and laid down, eventually falling asleep.

A couple of hours later, she woke up. Her headache was gone, but her neck was still sore. Quinn grabbed her phone and saw that she got a text message from an unknown number.

 ****

 **Ur neck any better? My offer still stands.**

She rolled her eyes, before answering.

 ****

 **Q: Who's this?**

She had a pretty good idea of who sent her that message, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

 ****

 **P: Ur favorite neighbor**

 ****

 **Q: Finn? Did u change your number?**

 ****

 **P: No, the hot one.**

 ****

 **Q: Blonde guy from 4** **th** **floor?**

 **P: Ha ha. Funny.**

 ****

 **Q: Thanks! I try.**

 ****

 **P: So, I could come over and help u with ur neck.**

 ****

 **Q: R u serious? Why are u talking to me?**

 ****

 **P:** **We settled our differences last night.**

 ****

 **P: Now that you no longer hate me, we could start fresh.**

Quinn couldn't believe the guy. The only thing she remembered him doing the night before was pissing her off and then kissing her. Not that she hated the kiss, quite the opposite, but things were far from good between them. And she was still mad. In fact, Puck was the last person she wanted to talk to.

 ****

 **Q: How did you even get my number?**

 ****

 **P: From Finn's phone. Now we can chat more!**

 ****

 **Q: Great! Just milk me now.**

 ****

 **P: That's an unusual request, but I could be into it.**

 ****

 **Q: Damn, autocorrect. KILL, just kill me now.**

 ****

 **Q: Don't be a pervert.**

 ****

 **P: Can't help it, babe ;)**

 ****

 **Q: Bye, Puck.**

She was screwed. Now that he had her number, he would annoy her to no end. Not only he would keep texting her whenever he wanted, he would have plenty of reasons to make fun of her. Quinn's phone hated her, and it often send highly inappropriate messages to her friends or sentences that made no sense. Damn you, autocorrect.

She considered blocking Puck's number, but decided against it. She told herself that he could need to call her for an emergency, but only because she didn't want to admit that she actually liked him. Quinn just hoped he wouldn't text her often. Sure, that's what she was hoping for.


	9. Chapter 8

**It's been a while, but I'm back. I hope you're still interested in the story. SomethingWorthATry, thanks for the review, this chapter is dedicated to you.**

* * *

Puck was torn about the events of the weekend. He wanted to pursue Quinn, but knew that it wasn't a good idea, not only because of Sam, but also because he was pretty sure the girl hated him. He enjoyed the kiss, but her reaction wasn't anything like what he was expecting. So, probably, it was a good thing that Quinn saw Santana leaving his apartment the next day. His neighbor must be convinced that he slept with her former classmate. Truth is, he did, when he was 16. Nowadays, Santana was a good friend and a proud lesbian, what led him to introduce her to Dani, the manager of his restaurant, that ended up sleeping on his guest room after the party. But Quinn didn't need to know that. She could just think that he wasn't hung up on her. He was Puck, he had women all over him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the door closing and a ecstatic Finn walking in with a silly smile on his face.

"What's got you in such a good mood, Hudson?" Asked Puck, not really interested on his roommate's answer.

Finn's smile got bigger as he spoke. "I asked Quinn out. She said yes. We're going out next Thursday."

That got Puck's attention. He would be lying if he said he was happy for the guy.

"Finally! You've been pining after her for what, two years? It was time to man up." He said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Finn, on the other hand, wasn't really listening. He walked to his room thinking about where he could take Quinn. This date had to be perfect.

Puck sat on the couch, staring at the tv but not really paying attention to it. He really should be happy for Finn. They were becoming sort of friends and he knew that his roommate had a crush on Quinn for a while now, even before he did. Except that he didn't have a crush on Sam's sister, right?

It was actually a good thing. He could forget about her, he wouldn't break his promise to Sam and Finn would get the girl of his dreams. He could actually try to be friends with the girl. It would work out for everyone!

* * *

Quinn was trying her best to focus on her classes, but all she could think about was that, in two days, she would go out with Finn. She'd been waiting for some time for him to ask her out and, at some point, she thought he never would. She was convinced that he was just a nice guy and didn't see her that way. So imagine her surprise when, this morning, when she was waiting for the elevator, he asked if she wanted to do something on Thursday.

She had to call Mercedes! Finally, a nice guy showed some interest in her. Finn was perfect for her! He was kind, caring, didn't sleep around, didn't think she was ugly, wasn't sleeping with Santana Lopez, wasn't her brother's best friend... See, what more could she want from a guy?

He was just what she needed. Maybe, he could even be the one. Quinn was sure that her parents would love him! And Sam... well, Sam wouldn't be mad if he found out that Finn kissed her. That was the closest to liking one of her boyfriends that he would ever get. Yes, it would work out for everyone.

Puck decided that he would avoid Quinn for a while. It wouldn't be hard, since things have been awkward between since the kiss, and his neighbor seemed to run and hide every time she saw him. He started typing a text message to her.

 ****

 **'So, you and Hudson, huh?'**

But he didn't press send, deciding it was better not to say anything.

During work, all Puck could think about was Finn and Quinn's date, although he would never admit it. Where would he take her? He liked the guy, but he was quite predictable, so, probably, a movie and then, dinner. If it was him taking her out, he would probably take her to the ballet, or to a picnic at Central Park. Maybe cook them dinner. But, truth was, he didn't do dates. Yes, he took women to dinner, usually in his restaurant, where he could eat for free, but only because he knew he would get something in return later. He took them out with an agenda and the least amount of effort.

That was another reason why he couldn't hook up with Quinn. She wasn't like that, she didn't just have sex with a guy that paid for dinner. And he just wanted to get her out of his system, that's all he would do. She was better off with Finn, that would probably wait for, like, six months to try to get on third base with her. That dude was slow.

But truth was, he didn't know if Quinn would just have sex with a guy, without being in a relationship. She could, or she could be a virgin, he didn't really now. Since he moved away to go to college, he didn't hear much about Quinn, so he didn't know much about her love life. Maybe he could ask Sam about it just to, you know, help Finn. Knowing his roommate, he was sure the guy would need all the advice he could get.

He saw Sam leaving the restaurant's kitchen and walked up to his friend.

"Sam, is your sister a virgin?"

The blonde stopped on his tracks and looked at him with an outraged expression.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?"

"It's just a question!"

"A stupid question. One, we have a deal. Two, bro code. Three, you just don't ask this kind of question about someone's sister. How would you feel if I asked you if Sarah was a virgin? "

"Dude, it's not for me, it's for a friend! And of course Sarah's a virgin."

"Oh, so, since you can't sleep with Quinn you'll introduce her to someone who can?"

"No, she's going out with Finn!"

"So that's what Finn wants? He's just after sex? You're supposed to look out for her too, man! Not let her go out with creeps that just wanna get into her pants!"

Puck really thought he would be helping Finn... It's the thought that counts, right?


	10. Chapter 9

**Thank you all so much for the reviews and your support! Here's chapter 9, I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Quinn didn't even wait for the door of her apartment to close behind her to take her shoes off and throw herself on the couch. She grabbed her phone and called Mercedes. She was furious and needed her best friend. On the third ring, she heard the familiar voice.

 __

 _"Hey, Q! Got good news for me? How was your date?"_

The blond sighed, shaking her head.

"Humiliating!"

 __

 _"Really? What happened?"_

"Well, everything was going perfect. He took me to the movies, then dinner, and we talked, had fun, got to know each other even better... And all the signs were there, you know? He was touching my hands and arms every chance he got, he put a lock of my hair behind my ear, listened to every word I said... I thought he was having fun, that we were on the same page."

 __

 _"What did he do, Quinn?"_

"He did nothing, Cedes! That's the problem. We got home, he walked me to my door and when we were saying goodbye, he was so close to me and had this goofy smile on his face! So I leaned in, closed my eyes and waited for him to do the same, but no! The guy grabbed my hand and shook it!

" _Oh no!"_

"Oh, yes! He said goodnight, hurried to his apartment and left me standing there, looking like an idiot!"

 __

 _"That's crazy! I mean, he's crazy about you! Everyone noticed the way he was looking at you at the party last Friday. Something must've happened."_

"Something did happen. He decided he didn't want me and I got another date to add to my "most embarrassing moments of my life" list. And the worst part is, this guy's my neighbor. How am I supposed to even look at him without feeling ashamed?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Finn sat on a chair in his living room with his head in his hands. Puck was already there, sitting on the couch watching tv. Seeing his roommate with that desperate look on his face, he knew something was wrong.

"Dude, was the date that bad?"

Finn shook his head. "No, the date was great, but of course I had to ruin everything."

"What did you do?"

"I shook her hand instead of kissing her."

"What? Are you an idiot?"

"No! I was nervous, ok? I've been waiting to kiss her for a year and a half and, when I saw her leaning in and closing her eyes, when I realized that the moment that I've been waiting for was finally there... I froze! I couldn't do it!"

Puck shook his head. "So, you don't want to kiss her anymore?"

"Of course I do! But now I'll probably never get the chance. She won't want to see me anymore."

"Just ask her out again. Or better yet, go to her, right now, and kiss her."

"I don't think I can do it right now. She must hate me."

After a long pause, Finn stood up and walked to his room.

"I just need some sleep. I'll try to fix things tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah." Puck said, nodding, but his head was someplace else. He knew he said he would avoid her, stay away from her, but he had to do something.

* * *

Quinn was still on the phone with Mercedes when she heard a knock on the door. She wasn't angry anymore, just frustrated. She'd never been rejected like that, and it stung.

"Cedes, just a minute, there's someone at the door." She said, as she walked the distance and opened the door. She was shocked to see her neighbor on the other side. The other neighbor.

Quinn was so shocked that all she manage to say was a weak "Yes?"

Puck didn't answer, he simply closed the distance between them and pulled her closer to him with his arms around her waist. He leaned in and gave her a slow, sweet kiss.

The girl was taken off guard but responded vigorously to the kiss. She was so lost in it that, when Puck pulled back, she still had her eyes closed and her mouth slightly opened.

He murmured a goodnight and was turning around to go back to his apartment when she reacted and grabbed his arm.

"What is this?"

"A goodnight kiss. I know you were waiting for one tonight. It's not from whom you wanted, but you got one anyway."

Now, when he turned to leave, she let him. Quinn didn't know how to feel about it, but maybe the huge smile on her face and the butterflies in her stomach were a good indication of it. Good thing that Mercedes was still on the phone.

* * *

On Friday morning, Quinn was exhausted. Thoughts of the date with Finn and the kiss with Puck kept her awake for some time the night before, and she didn't sleep as much as she'd like. But she couldn't miss any classes, since she had finals coming up next week, and she still had to teach her dance classes later that day.

As she waited for the elevator, she met the last person she wanted to see (and, surprisingly, it wasn't Puck).

"Morning, Q." Said the tall boy in a quiet tone, looking down.

"Finn." She simply acknowledged his presence, praying for the elevator to get there soon.

He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Look, I know I was an idiot last night but, I wanted to take you out again. Are you free this weekend?"

"I can't. I have my finals coming up next week and I plan to spend the whole weekend studying."

"Ok, maybe the week after?"

She nodded, with a soft smile on her face. "Yeah, sure."

The elevator door opened and she was getting inside when Finn spoke again.

"Quinn, wait!"

She looked at him expectantly and he leaned in and pecked her on the lips, in a gangling way. They smiled at each other and the elevator door closed, separating the couple.

By the time Quinn reached NYU, Finn was long forgotten and the only thoughts on her mind were the amount of studying she'd have to do this weekend. But that night, when her head hit the pillow, her other neighbor was all she could think about. He kissed her. Really kissed her. Again. He said it was a goodnight kiss, because he knew she didn't get one. So it probably was a pity kiss, right? Yes, he felt bad for her. That was all it was. She was going to see Finn again and had no business thinking about Puck.


	11. Chapter 10

**I'm sorry, I'm terrible. I was supposed to post this before Christmas, but life got in the way. My schedule is crazy and my brother and his wife just had twins, so they need help all the time. So, I'm having very little time to write. But I tried to write a bigger chapter to make it up to you! Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and I hope you like it.**

* * *

Quinn nodded at what Mercedes was saying, but didn't really hear a word. Her best friend noticed the hard expression on her face and followed her line of vision, only to land on her boyfriend's best friend, having a heavy make out session with a blond girl, pressing her against the wall for everyone to see.

"I see you found something more entertaining than this conversation." Mercedes said, in a teasing tone.

"Huh?"

"Puck seems to be more deserving of your attention than the concert I went to."

"I'm sorry, Cedes, is just that... he's such a pig!"

"I don't know why he bothers you so much. Puck's always been like this."

Quinn scoffed. "C'mom, Cedes. This is our Christmas party. Everyone will go home for Christmas, so this is the only time we have to celebrate and enjoy each other's company, and he's just ignoring everybody over some girl that wasn't even supposed to be here. Do you know her? See, he's disgusting."

"I don't know her, I think she's just a random girl he decided to bring. But Q, it's no big deal. We will see each other again in a couple of weeks, it's fine. Besides, Puck doesn't really care about Christmas. He's Jewish, right?"

"It doesn't matter! This was supposed to be about cherishing friends and loved ones. I'm just glad Finn's nothing like him!"

"Oooohhh, speaking of Finn... will you take him home to introduce to your folks?"

After going on a few dates, Finn and Quinn decided to make it official and were a couple now. They've been together for about a month, and were really happy. He was caring, sweet and, fortunately, very different from Puck, like she mentioned to Mercedes. But still, her boyfriend's roommate managed to get in the way of her relationship. At first, Quinn thought that Puck would be really happy about it, since he would have the apartment free more often to bring all his one night stands. At first, that's exactly what happened, since Quinn saw different women getting in and out of Puck's and Finn's apartment but, after a week or so, Puck seemed to get bored with it. That would've been ok, wasn't for the new hobby he's got. Now, Puck would call Finn every time he was with Quinn asking him to go play stupid videogames, to have a beer or go paintballing. Being the caring boyfriend he was, Finn always said he couldn't, that he was spending time with his girlfriend. Until the day before, when Puck called about this new Xbox game he bought that Quinn really didn't bother to remember the name. Yes, Finn ditched her for the stupid game. Ok, he said he would be gone for an hour tops, just to see what the game was about, leaving her on her couch, with an ice cream bowl and P.S. I Love You on the tv. She gets that he can't abandon his friends just because he's in a relationship, but it's been a month! They're still supposed to be on their honeymoon stage, right?

And that's why almost everything Puck does this days are getting on Quinn's nerves. He does idiotic things on regular basis, but he can't sabotage her relationship. And that explains why she's so bothered by him making out with a random girl during the party, but she rather not mention it to Mercedes. She wouldn't understand, anyways!

"No, I'm not. It's too soon, I haven't even told my parents about him. Besides, I think he'll have to work, so he wouldn't be able to go."

"Hmmm, you're right. I'm just glad now we'll finally be able to go to double dates." Mercedes said, smiling at Quinn. She nodded and smiled back.

She looked around the room and spotted none other than Santana Lopez, talking to the manager of Sam and Puck's restaurant, that Dani girl. 'Wow, Puck really is an idiot. The guy invites one of the girls he's sleeping with and hooks up with somebody else in front of her!' Each passing day, Quick despised him even more.

* * *

Puck excuse himself to the girl whose name he's already forgotten and headed to the bathroom. He really needed to take a leak, but he also wanted a break. Don't get him wrong, he was having a really good time with 'what's her name', and he would definitely get lucky tonight, but it was getting old. Truth was, maybe he was getting old, or just tired of the routine of drinking and partying and hooking up with girls. He was a businessman and had a restaurant to run, he couldn't do that on week nights anymore! Not that he's ditching that blond tonight, specially because it was Saturday.

But, more than that, Puck missed just... connecting with someone. Spending lazy afternoons doing fun stuff, having real conversations... No, he wasn't talking about girls and relationships! Hell no! He just really missed his friends. He loves Sam like a brother, there's no shame in admitting that. But he understands that the guy can't hang out with him now that he's living with Mercedes, he's gotta give the girl some attention and love, after all, he plans on marrying her someday, as he confided to Puck. Then there's Artie, who is married to his high school sweet heart and has a very demanding job, leaving no time to Puck other than the occasional calls. The waiters of the restaurant are nice guys, but they seem uncomfortable to hang out with their boss. And then, there's Finn. When he was starting to warm up to the guy, he starts dating the girl next door!

Of course, there's nothing wrong with Quinn. He would know, judging by that toned dancer legs he got to see when he borrowed Artie's spider, or the hot kisses they shared before, or her smell or... wait, he's getting side tracked here! He's not supposed to know or think those things about his roommate's girlfriend! Eh, they're not really that close. But, anyways, Finn's been a decent company since he moved in, and Puck thought they could be really good friends, especially considering that Finn worked as a bartender and could get him free drinks. But then the girl next door had to get between them. But he wouldn't have any of it! He would fight for his man! Well, you know what he meant. He felt lonely sometimes too, and no random women could fix it.

A knock on the door startled him.

"Hey, you gonna take long? I really need to go" Said a voice he didn't really recognized coming from the other side of the door.

"No, dude, I'm done." Puck left the bathroom and headed back to the living room, where the blonde was waiting for him.

* * *

The clock sitting on his bedside table reads 3:30 a.m. He officially couldn't sleep. Puck tried taking a shower, drinking warm milk and even tried meditation, but that really isn't for him. So, now, he decided that maybe a jog would help.

He didn't usually had insomnia, especially after drinking alcohol, but when he did, working his body to exhaustion usually helped.

He opened his apartment's door as carefully as he could, not to disturb his neighbors (yes, he was a very good neighbor) and stepped outside the hall, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. That's when a noise coming next door startled him.

He turned his head to see what was going on and there stood Quinn, leaving her apartment at the same time.

She noticed him right away and had the urge to roll her eyes, but controlled herself. He was the last person she wanted to see, but Quinn was tired and didn't have the energy to start an argument right now. So, she decided to try to be nice.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah... you?"

"Something like that."

There. Now they didn't need any more dialogue and could wait peacefully for the elevator. But Puck had other plans.

"So, did you leave Finn sleeping in there? Where're you going?"

She had to take deep breaths not to scream at him. It was none of his business, but she felt the need to clear things up about Finn.

"No, he doesn't sleep over. He's working right now. How about you, are you sneaking out of your own apartment to ditch that blond from the party?"

"Nah, she's long gone! No sleepovers, you got to have those rules to avoid certain unpleasant conversations and situations."

The blonde scoffed, but chose not to say anything. Once again, she didn't have the energy to argue. But apparently, Puck had a problem with the silence.

"You didn't answer my question. Where are you going?"

"None of your business." Ok, she couldn't hold it any longer.

Puck smirked. "Well, I'm just trying to be a nice guy. New York is not safe for anyone at this time, specially for a girl like you."

Now Quinn was livid. "A girl like me? What do you mean a girl like me?" It was useless! Every time the two of them were alone, they would argue and fight. Well, except from last time, when he kissed her, but she still didn't know how to deal with that and decided to pretend it never happened. But it did.

"I mean, gorgeous. There's all kinds of perverts wandering around the city..." It's like Puck turns a switch on his head to 'flirt mode' every time he's talking to a hot girl, doesn't really matter who she is. It's like he can't control himself, regardless if she's his best friend's sister or his roommate's girlfriend. Or both.

See, Quinn doesn't really know how to take a compliment. No, scratch that, she doesn't know how to take a compliment from Puck. She didn't really know how to behave around him. She hated him 99% of the time, and even his compliments sometimes sounded more like an insult. But the problem was that 1% of time, when he could be sweet... Not that was the case right now!

At this point, they've already left the building and Quinn turned left. Puck followed her.

"Says the guy hitting on a girl and following her at 4 a.m." Take that, Puckerman! Don't try to be cute right now.

Puck laughed before responding. "You know I'm not a pervert."

She smiled, teasing him. "Do I? I'm not sure about that."

"I'm not. And I'm not following you, I'm going with you, to make sure you're safe, you know?"

"You really don't have to do that. I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."

"Ok, little Fabray. Maybe, I just enjoy your company."

Noooo! Stop being cute, stop being cute! Just say something disgusting so I can hate you again!

"Well, I'd hate to make you change your plans. What were you going to do anyways?"

"I was gonna go jogging, they say physical exercises helps to fall asleep. But that's funny, considering I just had lots of sex a couple of hour before. See, I'd probably just waste my time." He said, smirking.

And there's the Puck she's used to. Thank God, she can easily go back to hating him.

Puck followed behind her as she entered a convenience store and headed to the aisle where they kept the ice creams. He watched as she grabbed a carton of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and her whole face lit up.

"Ah, I've been craving this!"

Panic was written all over Puck's face.

"What? Are you knocked up?"

She just glared at him.

"Finn's gonna be a father? "

"No, you idiot! I just really wanted this particular flavor of ice cream." Quinn said before going to the cash register to pay for the item.

He was so relieved! A baby would leave Finn no time to spend with him. Man, he really needed new friends, he was panicking over the amount o time he spent with his roommate! That's definitely not him.

Puck grabbed a beer for himself and joined Quinn, who was ready to leave. He paid for the beer and they were both on their way back.

She was enjoying the silence and the feeling of the wind against her skin. But of course, Puck wasn't very good at handling it.

"So, you're sure you're not pregnant?"

Once again, she glared at him.

"No, Puckerman."

"How can you be so sure? Does Finn shoot blanks?"

Upon the confused look on her face, he clarified.

"You know, is he sterile?"

She scoffed.

"Do you have to be so crass? Is none of your business."

"Hmmm, that's a yes, then! Did you want to have kids?"

"Shut up! He's not, ok?"

"So you could be pregnant!"

"We're not at that point of the relationship yet, ok?"

Puck smirked, as he accomplished what he wanted. To annoy Quinn. And he was glad to know that the couple hadn't had sex yet. He could somehow use this information for his advantage, at some point.

"Now, would you please, keep your mouth shut?"

He nodded, agreeing to it.

Neither of them spoke again until they reached their floor. When Quinn was about to get inside her apartment, he called her. She looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"You're going home tomorrow, right? Have a safe trip, and tell your parents I said hi"

She nodded. "Uh, thanks. Will do."

Quinn felt relieved when she closed the door behind her. Being near Puck seemed to unsettle her, she's always restless, like she doesn't know what to say, how to behave. Fortunately, she was leaving tomorrow and would get rid of him. At least for a couple of weeks!


End file.
